3rd March 2006

12:00 AM — EastEnders actress Natalie Cassidy has asked viewers to be undestanding over her characters upcoming stortyline as a lesbian.Ms Cassidy, who plays Sonia Fowler in the BBC soap, wants her fans to be behind her when the Albert Square resident leaves on screen husband Martin (James Alexandrou) for a lesbian relationship with Naomi Julien (Petra Letang.)

12:00 AM — As if t-shirts, dolls, sweet dispensers are not enough, eBay sellers are now offering Brokeback Mountain money.The auction site contains numerous listings for "Bank of Gyllenhaal"£20 notes. British bidders can make offers for the notes which contain images of one of the stars of the gay cowboy movie.

12:00 AM — A Croydon based gay police group has persuaded Scotland Yard to agree on guidance to protect transgenders from abuse when they use public toilets.One of the fears of those changing gender is being verbally abused, assaulted or seen as breaking the law for being in what others may see as the wrong toilet.

12:00 AM — Gotham City superhero, Batman, is gay, according to Hollywood superstar George Clooney.The actor who was being interviewed on an American Oscar show, replied to host Barbara Walters' who asked if he would ever play a gay cowboy. Mr Clooney said he believed he had already played a gay character, "I was in a rubber suit and I had rubber nipples. I could have played Batman straight, but I made him gay."

2nd March 2006

12:00 AM — The Liberal Democrats will announce their new leader later on today, in what has been a roller coaster six week campaign.Votes from the party's 73,000 members will be counted today in a choice between Simon Hughes, Sir Menzies Campbell and Chris Huhne.All three insist they can win the contest which began in January when former leader Charles Kennedy resigned.

12:00 AM — British political parties have stated their support for international protests against the Moscow Gay Pride ban taking place outside Russian Embassies this afternoon.Gay groups will picket outside Russian Embassies in London, Paris and Warsaw this afternoon against Yury Luzhkov, the mayor of Moscow who announced that the city government will notallow a gay parade "in any form" and any attempt to hold a gay event will be "resolutely quashed".

12:00 AM — A Jewish novelist is challenging her religious upbringing in a debut book about a lesbian affair with an Orthodox rabbi's wife.Naomi Alderman, 31, wrote "Disobedience" to raise questions of the central values of Orthodox Judaism and to highlight women's issues in the religion.

12:00 AM — The online auction frenzy for Brokeback Mountain memorabilia continues this week with an auction for sweet dispensers dedicated to the gay cowboy movie.An American seller on eBay is offering buyers two Pez dispensers which feature the heads of actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger. The custom made sweet holders of characters, Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar, are made from Sculpey Clay and hand painted. The name "PEZ" is outlined in rhinestones.

12:00 AM — Bisexual MP Simon Hughes has missed out on the Liberal Democrat leadership post to acting leader Sir Menzies Campbell (sometimes referred to as Ming Campbell.)Lib Dem vice president Lord Dholakia announced this afternoon that Sir Menzies Campbell will be the party's new leader after Charles Kennedy resigned at the end of January. Over 70% of party members turned out to vote between Simon Hughes, Sir Menzies Campbell and Chris Huhne.

12:00 AM — Sir Menzies Campbell has raced Britain at the Olympics and Commonwealth Games and has previously held the British 100m record, but nothing could have prepared him for this closely fought Liberal Democrat leadership election..He was appointed the party leader today defeating defeating Chris Huhne 57% to 43% after a six week campaign between him, Chris Huhne and Simon Hughes.

12:00 AM — The gay community should seriously consider supporting the Conservative Party, according to David Cameron.Mr Cameron, leader of The Conservatives told PinkNews.co.uk: "We want the gay community to look at us and hear what we have to say so that they can decide if we look and sound like their kind of party."We are an open and inclusive party and we are passionate about acting to ensure that at every level, we are representative of modern Britain."

12:00 AM — Demonstrators picketed the Russian Embassy in London today in protest at the ban on the Moscow Gay Pride parade by the city's mayor. They also condemned the threats of violence against the Pride marchers by Russian religious leaders.Today's London protest coincided with simultaneous protests Paris, Stockholm, Vienna and Warsaw.

1st March 2006

12:00 AM — The man who invented the Contraceptive Pill is now embracing more family planning issues by writing a lesbian comedy.Carl Djerassi, is one of the world's most famous scientists and is credited with starting a social revolution in the 1960s. The play, Taboos, explores the consequences of becoming a biological and legal parent, and covers controversial issues such as sperm and embryo donation.

12:00 AM — The use of crystal meth is becoming a global problem, according to the United Nations.Crystal meth, or methamphetamine is already rife amongst the gay dance scene and doctors predict it will spiral out of control into the UK's mainstream culture.Also known as 'tina', 'krank' or 'ice', the ease of production due to poor restrictions on manufacturing the chemicals, and euphoric effects have ensured dramatic escalation of the drug's distribution worldwide.

28th February 2006

12:00 AM — The mayor of Moscow's plans to ban the city's gay pride march are a threat to civil liberties and civil society, according to a human rights group.Human Rights Watch has written a letter to the mayor, Yuri Luzhkov calling on him to let the parade go ahead on the scheduled date of May 27. The document accuses him of inhibting freedom of expression and promoting prejudice.

12:00 AM — Gays and lesbians are rarely featured positively by the BBC, according to research.The study by gay charity Stonewall revealed that only 0.06% of airtime was devoted to sexual diversity. The figures suggest that lesbian and gay lives were covered in just six minutes out of 168 hours of prime time television.

27th February 2006

12:00 AM — A footballer in Scotland has been criticised over comments about gays and lesbians.Gay groups voiced concern over Rangers Trinidad and Tobago star Marvin Andrews after he said his church could "cure" lesbian Liberal Democrat MSP Margaret Smith, who announced her civil partnership plans last week.

12:00 AM — An American Christian clothing company is courting controversy after satirising gay cowboy movie Brokeback Mountain with a t-shirt alluding the film to sinners at the giving of the Ten Commandments.The T-shirt states, "The Original 10 Commandments, BrokeBack on the Mountain." It features ancient Israelites and gay people dancing around a Golden Calf whilst Moses watches angrily from Mount Sinai.

12:00 AM — A strict code of conduct is needed in schools to combat homophobic abuse, a teaching survey has revealed.The research, conducted by the Teacher Support Network, a charity providing practical and emotional support to UK teachers and lecturers, claims two thirds of respondents from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender teaching community have felt discriminated against in the workplace because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

12:00 AM — A group of Canadian priests have publicly criticised the Vatican's ban on gay clergy.In the largest internal opposition to the Catholic stance on homosexuality, 19 priests condemned the church's view on being gay and requested a new dialogue on the issue.They wrote a letter published in Montreal newspaper La Presse opposing the Catholic view that being gay is a "disorder"

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